By Paul Nelson Staff writer

Published 1:00 am, Friday, August 21, 2009

SCHENECTADY — The buyer was looking to get some "quarter sticks" for a "mission."

His would-be supplier said he was out and instead offered another type of explosive device with a fuse on the side that he later stashed behind a potted plant on a filing cabinet.

The Feb. 18 rendezvous in the school office of then Schenectady school facilities director Steven Raucci was one of at least four meetings he had with the State Police informant as an investigator eavesdropped on their conversation, according to court papers related to the criminal case that provide a glimpse into some of what may prove to be key prosecution evidence if the case goes to trial.

The defense motions seek to suppress some of that proof and asks the court to return the $120,000 cash and other items authorities confiscated from Raucci's home in Niskayuna and workplace in Schenectady on the day he was arrested and charged with arson for alleging leaving an explosive device on an occupied Rotterdam home.

"The fact the defendant maintained his money in three piles of hundreds is not an indication of anything criminal, but rather the defendant's personal preference and his own requirement of neatness," according to the court papers recently filed in Schenectady County. It contends that State Police Detective Peter Minahan failed to establish any probable or reasonable claims for the search warrant and that his theory that the cash in Raucci's home is drug money is groundless.

Additionally, Ronald DeAngelus who represents Raucci, is arguing that Schenectady County doesn't have jurisdiction over some of the charges and he is asking the court to throw out some of the statements his client gave when arrested and "interrogated" by police.

Prosecutors allege Raucci, a former state Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) union head and retired school manager, for decades used violence and vandalism against perceived foes who got in his way. Raucci, who turns 61 next week, faces a 26-count indictment, including terrorism, arson, conspiracy and weapons possession related to alleged incidents in Clifton Park, Glenville, Rotterdam, Colonie and Schodack dating back to 1993. The Niskayuna man has pleaded not guilty to the charges, but has been denied bail three times. The matter has spawned several lawsuits or people asking the court to take civil action against Raucci.

These most recent court filings show that Raucci was questioned early on by local police in connection with the Rotterdam bombing in 2001. Seven years later, during another of the sessions with the informant at his Mont Pleasant Middle School office, Raucci acknowledges being a "main suspect" in the crime and notes that a Rotterdam cop had been harassing a civil employee who is a member of union, according to the filings. He goes on to explain that he "did it for a friend" and "didn't even know the guy."

At that same meeting, Raucci has the informant read aloud a newspaper article about the Rotterdam incident that he removed from a black soft leather briefcase which police later seized from his home. In all, there were four meetings at Raucci's school office, two in December of 2008, and one on Feb. 18, two days before he was arrested. The first one took place at a Schenectady restaurant in November of 2008. Based in part on those wiretapped conversations, authorities applied for and were granted warrants that allowed them to forcibly enter Raucci's home at 1421 Balltown Road where he lives with his wife, Shelley. But the couple was not home at the time. An authorized search of his Mont Pleasant office was also issued.

The police paperwork outlining the reasons for the search warrant, and much of it signed by Investigator Minahan, is included in the court papers. Besides the $120,000 cash and briefcase, State Police also confiscated night vision goggles, stolen a decade ago from Glenville Police, a pistol, two revolvers, a Taser, two hollowed out grenades, two laptops and a desktop, according to an inventory sheet.

There is also a two-page typed missive that Raucci wrote to his wife, nicknamed Peanut, in which he professes his love for her. It begins, "if you found this letter, it means I'm no longer with you," makes references to family members, and encourages the woman to "enjoy whatever monies I left behind because up here we don't need money."

Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.